An examination of the validity of metaphor analysis studies

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan Wan
Keyword(s):  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Metaphor Analysis ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Perceived Reasons ◽  
Shed Light

The last decade has seen a large number of studies employing metaphor elicitation techniques, especially using ‘X is (like) Y’ format to investigate language teachers’ and learners’ understandings of teaching and/or learning. Although a few recent studies have reported the proportion of unsuccessful answers to this type of task, and identified a number of issues connected with task difficulty, there appears to be little published work that has seriously addressed the validity of the method used. The aims of this paper are therefore to explore the discourse and contexts where failure/difficulty with the metaphor elicitation task occurs, to try and understand what causes the problems and to suggest approaches to resolving them. In so doing, this paper reports on two small-scale metaphor analysis studies that were primarily designed to reduce the incidence of difficulty with ‘X is (like) Y’ metaphor prompts, presenting the perceived reasons for the difficulties and discussing possible solutions by introducing training in the form of four ready-made metaphor related teaching sessions. Essentially, I argue that training both about metaphor and in using it are important, and that thought needs to be given to both the nature and the length of training. The hope is that the present paper can be a first step and will serve to shed light on the ways that can be employed by metaphor researchers to identify and then resolve their methodological problems.

scholarly journals Animating Idolatry: Making Ancestral Kin and Personhood in Ancient Peru

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 287
Author(s):  
George F. Lau
Keyword(s):  
Family Members ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Lines Of Evidence ◽  
Ritual Practices

Historical and archaeological records help shed light on the production, ritual practices, and personhood of cult objects characterizing the central Peruvian highlands after ca. AD 200. Colonial accounts indicate that descendant groups made and venerated stone images of esteemed forebears as part of small-scale local funerary cults. Prayers and supplications help illuminate how different artifact forms were seen as honored family members (forebears, elders, parents, siblings). Archaeology, meanwhile, shows the close associations between carved monoliths, tomb repositories, and restricted cult spaces. The converging lines of evidence are consistent with the hypothesis that production of stone images was the purview of family/lineage groups. As the cynosures of cult activity and devotion, the physical forms of ancestor effigies enabled continued physical engagements, which vitalized both the idol and descendant group.

Een Taalportfolio Voor Docenten In Het Basisonderwijs

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 75-88
Author(s):  
Rian Aarts ◽  
Peter Broeder
Keyword(s):  
Primary Education ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Scale Evaluation ◽  
Teaching Language ◽  
Teaching Situation ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Language Meaning

This article focuses on the development of a language portfolio for teachers in primaty education. Portfolios are being used more and more in education, particularly in higher education. But also in primary education, a language portfolio for pupils (which has been accredited by the European Council) has been introduced and turned out to be useful, especially in schools with a multicultural population. Following the same guidelines as in the pupil's portfolio, a language portfolio for teachers has been developed. The first version of this portfolio has been used in a small-scale evaluation. It turned out that the language portfolio for teachers can function as an instrument for the evaluation and documentation of the language, didactic and cultural knowledge, and skills of teachers. Teachers can use the portfolio to assess their own proficiencies and to collect and store documentation of their proficiencies. Major differences were foundin the views of language teachers in primary schools (teachers of Turkish and Arabic) and those of general teachers. The latter group expressed their doubts about the usefulness of the language portfolio in their teaching situation, as teaching language (meaning: teaching English) is only a small part of their task. Recent developments in primary education, however, seem to point to a growing importance of languages in this type of education. In this case, language portfolios could prove to be useful instruments.

Samenwerkend Woorden Leren Als Vorm Van Content Based Language Learning; Een Succesvolle Aanpak?

1998 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 63-69
Author(s):  
Hilde Hacquebord
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Reading Vocabulary ◽  
Post Test

Second-language learners need a vocabulary course that they can apply in content areas. Although many schools opt for a reading curriculum to support weak readers, many L2-readers still have difficulties at the word level. In the reading course Weet wat je Leest (Know what you are reading'), there is a vocabulary course especially for L2-readers. It is designed along the principles of 'natural word acquisition', in which attention to the unknown word and elaboration of its meaning on the basis of the co-text is important. Vocabulary learning strategies are presented in such a way that language learners can deal with it in a cooperative way. Cooperation between language teachers and subject teachers is also very important in this project. The experimental reading/vocabulary course has been implemented in several schools. Only 45 students took part in the vocabulary course, and were able to improve their results with respect to word knowledge. Also the control group improved on word knowledge, be it not to the same extent. In a small-scale study, we observed a number of students in the vocabulary course. It appeared that especially the 'overestimators' in the program among them improved their metalinguistic ability with respect to word knowledge, whereas the control Werestimators' did not; they even had lower scores on the post-test.

scholarly journals Foreign language teacher education in psycho-pedagogical research

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-176
Author(s):  
Marianna Levrints
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

The unprecedented growth in the quantity, as well as quality of publications on language teacher education supported by the domain’s increasing experiential background opens up new avenues for enhancing the effectiveness of foreign language teacher education in Ukraine. Hence, the present paper aims at analyzing and singling out recurrent research themes, defining the mainstream approaches of the field of language teacher education, which constitute the emerging theoretical foundations of the field’s knowledge base. The review of the state-of-the-art publications has enabled the specification of the following research areas, pertinent to foreign language teacher education: language teacher cognition, the knowledge base of language teachers, language teacher identity, reflection, language teacher research and action research, language teacher professionalism, the role of teacher education, effectiveness of teaching, expertise, competence, teacher development and some others. The analysis of research suggests overall proliferation of the number of studies on the problem of language teacher education during the past 30˗40 years. Nevertheless, the comparison of the volume of studies highlighting general aspects of teacher education to those specifically related to foreign/second language teacher education reveals the quantitative advantage of the former. More efforts are needed at elaborating language teacher focused issues which stem from the nature of foreign language as a discipline, the socio-cultural role of language teachers and the role of foreign language in particular. Further limitations of the field-related research base, include: 1) a rather small proportion of empirical studies, necessary to provide informed answers for important questions of language teacher education; 2) the majority of available empirical studies are small-scale and contextually limited, which excludes the possibility of generalizations; 3) the field’s overall reliance on traditions, intuition and practical experience, with little regard for theoretical foundations; 4) paucity of research that present systematic complex generalizations of the field’s knowledge base;

scholarly journals Becoming mentors: a narrative exercise to unveil struggles guiding an english language teaching practicum

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 312-324
Author(s):  
Pilar Méndez-Rivera ◽  
Francisco Pérez-Gómez
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Collaborative Reflection ◽  
Teaching Practicum ◽  
Narrative Study ◽  
English Language Teachers

This paper analyses the memories of two English language teachers recollected about their struggles to break through as practicum mentors in two public universities. This small- scale narrative study emerged from the constant and collaborative reflection upon their long years of experience advising primary and secondary schools’ mentees, and upon the different situations mentors had to experience while performing their job. Findings revealed that despite having worked in two allegedly different settings, both mentors faced similar issues regarding their vision of education, their view on language and their own identity as teachers, which affected their guidance. They also found that the feedback they provided their mentees perpetuated or contradicted dominant visions where inclusion and diversity were neutralized.

scholarly journals An Exploratory Case Study of the Use of Video Digitizing Technology to Detect Answer-Copying on a Paper-and-Pencil Multiple-Choice Test

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Zerpa ◽  
Christina Van Barneveld
Keyword(s):  
Choice Test ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Multiple Choice Test ◽  
Test Taking ◽  
Exploratory Case Study ◽  
Future Program ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Answer Copying

In educational testing, answer-copying is considered a behaviour that poses threats to the validity of test scores interpretations, which is a concern when interpreting the test results for the purpose of making changes to curriculum and educational policies. Answer copying involves at least two examinees, one being the source and the other the copier. While different methods have been developed to detect answer-copying using statistical indices, researchers have not yet examined the use of video digitizing technology via a kinematic sanalysis of the data to detect answer-copying during test taking situations. The purpose of this case study was to explore the use of video digitizing technology to detectanswer-copying by measuring examinees’ response time, displacement and velocity from item to item on a test. A sample of two university students volunteered to demonstrate the benefits and challenges of using video digitizing technology to detect answer-copying. While this is a small scale demonstration, the outcome of this study may shed light on whether or not the use of video digitizing technology provide evidence of feasibility and some preliminary reliability in the detection of answer copying.The lesson learned from this study can inform the direction of a future program of research.

Task-based Pedagogies in Iran: The Relationship between Oracy and Literacy

RELC Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 412-426
Author(s):  
Elahe Shakhsi Dastgahian ◽  
Marianne Turner ◽  
Janet Scull
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Summer School ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
English Language Teachers

Despite the recent emphasis on oral English language proficiency in the Iranian education system, the teaching of oral communication remains a challenge for secondary school English language teachers. In this article, we suggest that this, in part, relates to the continued emphasis on literacy practices. The article explores the approach taken by three Iranian junior high school English language teachers to teaching oracy during a summer school task-based intervention. Data were gathered through observations and interviews, and third generation activity theory from Engeström (1996; Engeström 2001) was used to analyse teachers’ practices. Findings revealed that, while trialling aspects of task-based pedagogies, the teachers’ attention to oracy increased. However, they retained a strong traditional focus on literacy teaching, which had an effect on their approach to oracy and also appeared to constrain their movement towards less-controlled spoken language. This small-scale study offers insights into approaches to oracy teaching while employing task-based pedagogies in foreign language contexts like Iran. In this context, English literacy has been the historical focus, the Roman alphabet is new for the students, and there is often limited exposure to oracy practices outside the classroom context (Sadeghi and Richards, 2015).

Why Participation Matters to Understand Ritual Experience

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Knibbe ◽  
Marten Van der Meulen ◽  
Peter Versteeg
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Tension ◽  
Religious Ritual ◽  
Bodily Sensations ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Shed Light

Two cases in which researchers take part in religious ritual show how being a participant enhances the researcher’s understanding of what is happening. Through these cases the authors attempt to shed light on the methodological problems concerning the “intersubjectivity” of research on ritual. Ritual goes beyond the verbal and pulls bodily sensations, emotion and gestures into the domain of intersubjectivity established through fieldwork. Experiencing the emotional and physical sensations that accompany ritual give the researcher a clue as to what other participants experience. But maybe more importantly, the participation of the researcher also triggers reflections on the meaning and efficacy of the ritual. These verbalized interpretations of what has happened may further strengthen the researcher’s understanding. The authors argue that it is exactly through putting this intersubjectivity at the centre of both the actual fieldwork and the subsequent analysis that the ever flexible and contested nature of ritual and the dynamic tension between semantic and tacit meaning can be most fruitfully explored.

Turkey’s Small Capital, A Player from the Start: Relations with the State and Big Capital

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-108
Author(s):  
EMRE BALIKÇI
Keyword(s):  
State Policies ◽  
The State ◽  
Early History ◽  
Business History ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
State Involvement ◽  
History Of ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Shed Light

This article aims to shed light on the early history of small-scale capital in Turkey. Turkey’s paradigm of development in the 1960s and 1970s, as in other belatedly industrializing countries, meant active state involvement, generally in favor of big capital. This emphasis on the large players has caused small capital’s influence on the era’s state policies to be largely overlooked. This article argues that small capital, popularized in the 1990s with the concept “Anatolian capital,” has deeper roots in Turkish economic and business history than formerly thought.

scholarly journals Letting Go and Letting the Angels Grow

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Breen
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
English Language ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Group Sessions

This paper describes a small-scale qualitative research study conducted within a community of English Language teachers, and explores how teacher development workshops can be used to foster or cultivate Communities of Practice. The study was situated in a Language Centre within the domain of UK Higher Education where there was an institutional drive to better integrate the use of new technologies with traditional approaches to pedagogy. Data was collected through focus group sessions with a team of English Language teachers before, during and after a series of teacher development workshops on the use of technology in the English for Academic Purposes classroom. These focus group sessions were then followed up with individual interviews, drawing on a framework of stimulated recall. The data was then analysed through an established discourse analysis framework in the early stages, followed by a more inductive approach of thematic analysis in the later stages; triangulated by classroom observations of all participants. The purpose of the paper is to understand the functioning of a Community of Practice in terms of its contribution to teacher development The core argument within this paper is that Communities of Practice theory can contribute much to the fields of EAP (English for Academic Purposes), and teacher development in both theoretical and practical terms. It advocates a loosening of the reins on the part of organisations so that teachers are allowed to develop at their own pace and in a manner that is self-directed and tailored to their individual needs. It draws on Vygotskian-based theories of teacher cognition which suggest that in order for development to occur in a teacher education programme, participants need some form of prompting to move from within their “zone of proximal development” (Manning & Payne, 1993, p. 361). This prompting or scaffolding, as described in Vygotsky's own work (1934), generally takes place through a combination of support from more experienced practitioners in the first instance and then “situated engagement and negotiation” with peers and practitioners within a teaching community (Samaras & Gismondi, 1998, pp. 715-733).

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